Yahoo Finance Trending tickers: Arm | Ford | Games Workshop | H&M
The latest investor updates on stocks that are trending on Friday
Arm Holdings (ARM)
British chipmaker Arm made its debut on the Nasdaq (^IXIC) on Thursday in what was the biggest initial public offering (IPO) of the year.
The SoftBank-owned (9984.T) company saw its shares jump 10% as soon as trading began, then climb over 20% to above $61 within the first 30 minutes.
The stock closed almost 25% higher at $63.59, and is up around 9% in pre-market trading on Friday at the time of writing. Going into the IPO, shares were priced at $51 each.
Arm's float is the most high-profile IPO that the Nasdaq has seen since 2021's IPO boom, which cycled into a bust in 2022.
The semiconductor firm, which has its headquarters in Cambridge and employs 2,800 staff, mainly focuses on central processing units and also graphics processing units.
"A pop for Arm shares on debut in New York has also fuelled buying amid signs of strong appetite among investors for new issuance. Arm shares finished almost 25% — a big win for the broader market even if it’s not ideal for everyone," Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said.
"But ultimately SoftBank still owns 90% and would prefer to under-price and let the stock rally...cornerstone investors played a big part, but retail was showing interest. It’s undoubtedly good news for the IPO market — quite whether there is another Arm out there with such a unique moat is harder to say."
Read more: Arm stock surges 24% over IPO price after Nasdaq debut
The company was previously listed in London but was taken private seven years ago after SoftBank's $32bn (£25.7bn) takeover in 2016.
"Despite some concerns about the company's exposure to numerous risks in China, it's not stopped a juggernaut of enthusiasm," said Susannah Streeter head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Ford (F)
United Auto Workers (UAW) have called the first ever simultaneous strike against Detroit’s "Big Three" carmakers — Ford’s Michigan plant, General Motors’ (GM) factory in Missouri and Stellantis’ (STLA) plant in Toledo, Ohio.
It is the first time the union will strike against the Big Three since its six-week strike against GM back in 2019, and comes after weeks of talks over pay collapsed.
Ford shares were down 2% in pre-market trading on the back of the news.
The UAW said as time goes on, more locals may be called on to join the strike, giving what the UAW says is “maximum leverage and maximum flexibility” with negotiations with the automakers.
Read more: LIVE: FTSE and European stocks rally on promising China data, weak pound
Shawn Fain, UAW president, said: "Tonight, for the first time in our history, we will strike all three of the Big Three at once. This strategy will keep the companies guessing. It will give our national negotiators maximum leverage and flexibility in bargaining. And if we need to go all out, we will. Everything is on the table."
The UAW will pay striking workers $500 a week to cover costs and expenses, while the other UAW members who continue working will collect wages and be able to contribute to the strike fund.
The UAW members that continue to work will do so under an expired contract, which will be allowed by the union.
The length of a strike at all three automakers is unclear, though it could last for longer than the industry expects.
Games Workshop (GAW.L)
Shares at Games Workshop were up 10% on the day in London after the company said sales and profits came in ahead of expectations thanks to its TV series deal with Amazon (AMZN).
The Warhammer maker revealed that revenues for the three months to 27 August were up 14% to about £121m, compared with revenues of £106m a year earlier.
Meanwhile pre-tax profits climbed 46% to around £57m.
In a statement, the retail group said: “The board recognises that this performance is better than the prior year but is also aware that it is still early in the financial year. A further update will be given as appropriate."
Read more: Stocks that are trending today
The company also announced a dividend of 50p per share, taking dividends so far this year to £1.95 per share, ahead of £1.20 last year.
Analysts at Peel Hunt said it was an “encouraging start to the year” and a “stellar” first quarter. It is increasing its forecasts by 6%.
The latest edition of Warhammer 40,000, Games Workshop’s popular war-game, “has been received well and should continue to help the hobby and profits grow,” they added.
H&M (HM-B.ST)
H&M fell out of fashion on Friday, slipping more than 5% after it posted flat sales in its most recent quarter. This came in below expectations amid struggles to attract customers in a sharp cost of living crisis.
The world’s second biggest fashion retailer said its closely watched June to August local-currency sales were “flattish” year-on-year, missing predictions of 5% growth by analysts in a Reuters poll.
Net sales rose 6% to 60.9bn Swedish krona (£4.4bn), behind the 63.5bn expected by analysts.
H&M’s sales rose 8%, after its Russia, Belarus and Ukraine operations were excluded. Its Russian stores were temporarily open for part of the third quarter last year but have since been shut.
The Swedish company said: “The work towards the company’s goal of reaching a 10% operating margin in 2024 is going in the right direction. Profitability and inventory levels have been prioritised in the quarter.”
Meanwhile, Jie Zhang, an analyst at AlphaValue, said: "Whether H&M is able to turn its margin back is most important in the near-term."
It comes after Spanish rival Inditex (ITX.MC), which owns Zara, beat expectations on Wednesday with a 40% jump in half-year net profit. This came as the world’s biggest fast fashion company slowed the pace of its price increases.
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